Philips Hue White and Colour Ambiance Starter Kit: Smart Bulb 3X Pack LED [B22 Bayonet Cap] Includes, Bridge (Works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit)
CamelCamelCamel.
Just like the Xiaomi bulbs
Do they support HomeKit, and have the option for physical dimmer switches? Both are crucial in my setup
I just use the Kasa app and google home.
I had TP link and switched to hue cos it supports apple homekit and offers physical dimmer switches at an extra cost.
Philips hue uses zigbee protocol and doesn't interfere with wifi signals. Also the most zigbee devices, the stronger the mesh. Wifi lights cause more interference.
this kit comes with the extra hardware and uses the zigbee protocol which is a low power consumption and doesn't clog up your wifi when you get a b*ttload of them… each to their own but this is a good deal for people who want to be part of the Hue ecosystem or use Apple Homekit as their preferred smart home organiser.
Different strokes for different folks I guess.
I'm not sure if the Hue lights we've got would fit in anybody's b*tt anyway. The Calla pedestal lights would be interesting.
We have about 17 bulbs/lights, plus dimmer switches etc, so I'm in that crowd who prefers not to run them as normal wi-fi devices. If I only had one or two though, then I could see the point. The Hue ecosystem can be expensive, even if buying them on steep discount when available.
@Banj0: That can be exxy but they are rock solid in my experience. I got my first kit many years ago and they are still going strong, have slowly built up a collection and combined with a homepod you have a solid voice/automation experience.
@squinly: Yes, I certainly have no complaints over how Hue runs. I did have one of the bulbs die after a year, though that was a good excuse to replace it with a colour bulb :o)
@bargainshooter: No, I did not bother. $20 white bulb, not quite a year, but didn't still have a receipt.
They did come to the party with a Sonicare toothbrush once though - just sent them a video of my son's brush broken after a week, and they shipped a brand new one. So yes, I expect their service is good.
I used to think that 'no hub'/WiFi options like TP-Link and LIFX were better, but in my experience Hub-based options like Hue that use Zigbee or similar non-WiFi protocols are overall just more reliable from a signal stability and range point of view, especially as your set of smart accessories grows over time.
I understand the point. Is it really worth the premium price for Hue though? Are there cheaper Zigbee options worth looking at?
Osram have a product called Lightify, which was much cheaper and the bulbs were brighter. I have 30 of their bulbs. It's pretty good if you use them with their Lightify hub but they don't work very well with the Hue hub and I needed physical dimmers and switches, which really only Hue provides. I changed over to pure Hue and it's been relatively rock solid.
@bargainshooter: Thanks for the info. Your comments seem consistent with a few others that Hue or similar is the way to go. Does Hue play nicely with SmartThings or if going down that path is it better to go with SmartThings own bulbs?
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I don't think that's the latest set that supports Bluetooth.
As it comes with a Wi-Fi Hub you shouldn’t need to use Bluetooth. Not sure if there are any other differences with the newer version though.
I think they can go slightly brighter, though I bought some a while back and honestly can't tell.
Decent price. Looks like it comes with a bridge, which presumably has a UK plug on the power adaptor, and the bulbs are not the new ones…but still a decent price for three colour bulbs with bayonet
Thanks OP!
Agree, good price, I picked up an E27 set for about $150 earlier this year and thought it was cheap then….
Is this cheap for the bulbs if I already have a Hue bridge?
Very good price. b22 bulbs are very hard to find in Australia.
If you can sell the extra Hue Bridge for about 40 bucks on FB marketplace. It works out to be about $33 a bulb.
Not as cheap as the recent Target clearance sale for individual bulbs for $20. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/544256
sure is, generally
damn it.. i just bought a set last week for $200..
Same ;(
The option appears to be for the bulbs and no bridge. Option is " Lamps only".
Nah, that's if it includes the smart buttons or not. Bridge is included
Any deals on the philips hue white ambiance? Looking for 3 bulbs. Amazon is selling these for $175 crazy
These can do white?
yeah but i am hoping to just get the hue white ambiance at much lower cost…
got an email from shopback saying cashback for order is A$7.51
Dang thought it wasn’t eligible
I'm assuming this is expired? Comes to a different set when I click on the link
Does it have au plug on it?
Anyone had theirs ships yet? I haven't received a refund notification either, but it's been a few days. Kinda feels like they haven't decided what to do haha
Mine hasn't shipped either yet. However, its showing 8 to 29 Sept for delivery, which seems to be an unusually broad range of dates, possibly due to covid.
In my experience with buying US items via amazon.com.au, its as if they wait until they have a full planeload before shipping because sometimes orders show no action until just a few days before the latest due date and then travel half way around the world and turn up on my front porch less than 48 hours after changing status to shipped.
TL;DR
Mine too, but don't stress for a few weeks yet
Oh that actually makes a lot of sense. I never considered that they'd be waiting for a full plane load. I did just get off chat support with Amazon about it. I was concerned that the product page is gone and is showing something that's fulfilled by a company with only 14 transactions in the last month. Super suspect haha. Amazon Rep said that it should send in two days. So fingers crossed for the both of us!
That said, I wouldn't have been surprised if it wasn't fulfilled. So cheap :o
My payment just went through my bank 10mins ago. Usually that's a sign that the order is going to ship within the next 24 hrs. I've not ordered from amazon UK before, so I'm curious to see how long it takes to get here. I'm always amazed at how fast Amazon gets things to me from the US once the order leaves their warehouse. AusPost struggles to get letters to the next suburb in the same sort of timeframes.
@CacheHunter: Hahaha so true. I'm also getting an Otterbox case that's supposedly arriving on Monday. Won't even take a week… From Hong Kong. Though they use FedEx, so no surprises there. My Amazon US orders are generally fast as well, but I haven't ordered from them in a few months. Giving UK a go for the first time as well. Hopefully it doesn't take too long to arrive :)
@CacheHunter: My payment was finally taken out today! Phew :) Thanks for calming me down! I was thinking of cancelling the order last week because it took so long for them to ship it. Enjoy! I have a few Hue products already. I was just looking to make use of the fixures in the house to add some more colour
Ive just received the bulbs today.. they shipped the starter kit by itself without an Amazon shipping box lmao..all the way from the UK. Did they run out of boxes?
or just get the TP-Link ones, they connect directly to your router without extra hardware…